Chuck is the author of the published novels: Blackbirds, Mockingbird, Under the Empyrean Sky, Blue Blazes, Double Dead, Bait Dog,Dinocalypse Now, Beyond Dinocalypse and Gods & Monsters: Unclean Spirits. He also the author of the soon-to-be-published novels: The Cormorant, Blightborn (Heartland Book #2), Heartland Book #3, Dinocalypse Forever, Frack You, and The Hellsblood Bride. Also coming soon is his compilation book of writing advice from this very blog: The Kick-Ass Writer, coming from Writers Digest.

He, along with writing partner Lance Weiler, is an alum of the Sundance Film Festival Screenwriter’s Lab (2010). Their short film, Pandemic, showed at the Sundance Film Festival 2011, and their feature film HiM is in development with producers Ted Hope and Anne Carey. Together they co-wrote the digital transmedia drama Collapsus, which was nominated for an International Digital Emmy and a Games 4 Change award.

Chuck has contributed over two million words to the game industry, and was the developer of the popular Hunter: The Vigil game line (White Wolf Game Studios / CCP). He was a frequent contributor to The Escapist, writing about games and pop culture.

Much of his writing advice has been collected in various writing- and storytelling-related e-books.

He currently lives in the forests of Pennsyltucky with wife, two dogs, and tiny human.

He is likely drunk and untrustworthy. This blog is NSFW and probably NSFL.

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Chuck Wendig is a novelist, screenwriter, and game designer. This is his blog. He talks a lot about writing. And food. And pop culture. And his kid. He uses lots of naughty language. NSFW. Probably NSFL. Be advised.

Favorite Horror Novel

It’s Halloween.

Of course, that means I want to know about your favorite horror novel.

Past or present.

Not the best horror novel —

This isn’t precisely about quality.

It’s about the ones you love. The ones you re-read.

The ones that scare the unholy ghost right out of your skin.

Start recommending.

(For the record, while I don’t know that it’ll count as my favorite, I’m finally reading Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill and that’s got a bonafide creepy vibe going for it. Really spooky stuff. You also can’t go wrong by reading, uhh, anything by Robert McCammon. But start with Swan Song, since we’re talking.)

Not strictly horror but Red Dragon is easily the scariest book I’ve ever read. It made me check the windows. And while technically a thriller I suppose…it’s completely about the bad times. It’s pretty deliberate in the ways it creeps you out.

Also putting in a vote for The Shining and The Road (THAT SCENE in the cellar!)

Magic the Gathering: The Quest for Karn and The Thran surprisingly double as being pretty good horror stories as well as fantasies/adventures. I reread them not because they’re the best horror stories, although I do like how the plot is presented, but because of their strangeness. You’ll fall in love yet be horrified by the awesome monstrosities that is the Phyrexian race, and as I think I’ve stated before in your “Books that have touched your heart” post, the reader is kept in the dark whether the Phyrexians are truly walking horrors—- or perhaps something more than we humans can ever be.

Not a novel, but a short story. Part of a collection of horror-esque stories by Chuck Palahniuk, Haunted. The infamous ‘Guts’ short story.
It’s the stuff of legends in the Pacific Northwest for it’s ability to make people pass out when Chuck reads it out loud. As of last count according to no lesser source the wikipedia, it has been responsible for 68 people dropping to the floor.
I was lucky enough to be in the audience for one of those readings. While I didn’t personally pass out, five people in the audience did and I was closer than I care to admit.

The one that’s stayed with me always was The Shining. The first true horror novel I read, at the age of 12 or 13 I think. I was too scared to read any other King novels until I was 18. Now its driven me to start writing horror work of my own.

I read “Heart- Shaped Box” but I found “20th Century Ghosts” much more creepy. The aspire story is a real killer. Forgoing quality a it, I ADORE “John Dies At the End”. It’s funny and gross but it delivers some incredibly creepy moments that kept me up at night. “The Road” isn’t really horror, I guess, but it’s the scariest book I’ve ever read.

One particular scene from “The Mote in God’s Eye,” by Niven and Pournelle, gave me a very vivid nightmare that I remember more than 30 years later. The astronauts are moving from one ship to another, and realize at one point that one of the space suits contains not a person, but the very creatures they are trying to escape. It terrified me at the time.

I read Amityville Horror when I was really young, finished it in one night actually, cold feet under the blankets as the sun began to peak over the horizon.
It scared the heck out of me.
Then, much later, the movies provided some good laughs.
Salem’s lot, scared me even more.
Steven King is the master of planting ideas/situations in your head the occur to you endlessly for the rest of your life…or so it seems thus far.
I figure when my daughter’s old enough I’ll suggest she never invite anyone in that’s knocking at her bedroom window… for so many reasons!
I haven’t read a few mentioned above, I’ll be looking forward to them, thanks all!